Do you know the answer?

ELC Quiz Bowl Team qualifies for television broadcast for a third consecutive year

January 30, 2013

SIOUX CITY - Estherville Lincoln Central is again one of 16 high schools that won their way to the televised Quiz Bowl Competition on KCAU-TV after participating in a preliminary tournament held Saturday, Jan. 12, on the Morningside College campus.

The taping has been completed at the television studios on the Morningside College campus. ELC vs. West Monona will be aired at 11 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 3.

Article Photos

ELC?Quiz Bowl members Zach Shryock, Brandon Sharar, Ben Herrick, Audrey Herke and Gretchen Probst qualified for the televised Quiz Bowl Competition on KCAU-TV. The ELC team will be on KCAU this Sunday at 11 a.m.EDN photo by David Swartz

I'm proud of how they've done this year," said advisor David Finley. "They've made it to the playoffs in nearly every tournament."

Finley said this is the third straight year that ELC will be broadcast on KCAU. All five varsity members are seniors. There are 14 quiz bowl participants in grades 9-12.

Meet the team

Audrey Herke said she joined quiz bowl because her friends were a part of it. She considers her areas of strength as geography, animals and fantasy books and likes J.R. Tolkien.

One of the highlights for her was responded to a question where the answer was "oxbow lake."

Gretchen Probst is a four-year member of the quiz bowl team. She joined after hearing about it on the announcement as a freshman.

"I was told it might be a good idea," she said. She considers her areas of strength in the medical field, animals and music.

A couple of her highlights include a lightning round consisting of medical terms in which she got all but one right. In another lightning round, she got all the answers right about Greek gods and goddesses. Her favorite authors include Jr. Tolkien, JK Rowling, Christopher Paolina and the Ripley's books.

Zack Shryock said he was asked to join quiz bowl by members Ben Herrick and Season Burton during his junior year. His areas of strength are music, sports, geography and current events. The highlight of quiz bowl for him is competing in Sioux City. He lists his favorite authors as George Orwell, Tim O'Brien and Stieg Larsson.

Brandon Sharar said he was asked to join quiz bowl his sophomore year. His areas of strength are astronomy, physics, mythology and religions. A highlight for him is playing on the varsity. His favorite author is Michio Kaku.

Ben Herrick, a team captain along with Probst, said he was interested about in quiz bowl before he got to high school as he had heard about it in middle school. He lists is areas of strength in science and miscellaneous questions. His favorite authors are Edgar Allen Poe and Douglas Adams.

About the Tournament

The top 16 teams from the preliminary tournament will compete for championship honors in the Quiz Bowl Tournament that will be broadcast Sundays on KCAU-TV in Sioux City beginning Feb. 3 at 11 a.m. The broadcast contests will culminate with a championship game scheduled to air at 11 a.m. on May 12.

The first weekly broadcast on Feb. 3 is scheduled to feature Quiz Bowl teams from West Monona High School in Onawa, and Estherville Lincoln Central in Estherville.

Each 30-minute Quiz Bowl broadcast on KCAU-TV will feature two teams vying for points by correctly answering questions that range over the entire spectrum of a high school curriculum and current events. Julie Eickhoff of McCook Lake, S.D., is serving as the on-air host and moderator for the broadcast competitions.

Winning teams from the eight weeks of first-round competitions will move on to play in four weeks of quarter-final contests. Two weeks of semi-final competition lead to the championship game broadcast on May 12.